Feb. 18, 2014
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by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Jimmy Fallon's debut as the sixth Tonight Show host scored big for NBC late Monday, but fell short of the audience that tuned in for Jay Leno's farewell earlier this month.

Tonight averaged 11.3 million viewers in this week's special midnight ET/PT time slot, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates. That's up from the 6.6 million - his previous personal best - who watched his Feb. 7 Late Night finale, which also aired at midnight. But it's below the big 14.6 million who watched Jay Leno sign off - for the second time - on Feb. 6, and the 11.9 million who watched his first send-off in May 2009.

Still, helped by a big Olympics lead-in, Fallon's premiere easily dwarfed rivals David Letterman (2.4 million viewers) and Jimmy Kimmel (2.1 million), according to early figures. The premiere featured guests Will Smith and U2, along with a parade of celebrities, including Stephen Colbert, who paid respects (and $100 to settle a bet).

Among young-adult viewers that are the sweet spot of Fallon's audience, the episode tied this month's Leno's finale as the most-watched episode since Conan O'Brien's finale as host, in January 2010, after a rocky six-month tenure.

Impressive early ratings reflect hype-fueled sampling among viewers, and the audience invariably dwindles over the course of the premiere week. Next week's audience, without the Olympics' support, will be more typical, and will help determine the crowd for Fallon's Late Night successor, Seth Meyers, who starts his own tenure Monday at 12:37 a.m. ET/PT.

Experts predict that Fallon will settle in behind Leno in total viewership but will be competitive with him among the younger crowd.